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Too bad that Medvedev was hampered by an injury --- the first three games were a taste of what he can now do on the surface, and what the match could have been. Amazing angles and depth on his groundstrokes that unsettled Thiem for a while. But he only won one game after that and pretty much tanked the entire second set, so :shrug:

My user name was "Clay Death Rules" from March-December 2019 because of this legendary thread.
BSG#75 winner. --- (this signature looks like shit because MTF has the stupidest signature restrictions I've ever seen. )

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Yes, Medvedev was exhausted, after his nice run in MC, I was already surprised to see here him in the final and against Dominator, the challenge was too much for him. So, the most beautiful title on clay is in the pocket for Dominic. I hope (and I would be disappointed if not) he wins now one of the 3 next big tournaments (so either Madrid, Rome or RG) and hopefully he can even win 2 of them (then that would be fantastic)

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After unsuccessfully trying to match Medvedev's powerful flatter groundstrokes with his topspin, Thiem wisely went to variety, a lot of slice mixed in with drop shots, and the usual high topspin, and this did in the Russian, who later took a MTO (shoulder) between sets. Congrats to Dominic, fully deserved Barcelona title after overwhelming clay warrior yesterday. Commiserations to Daniil, who obviously played a good tournament.

Respectful Fan of Great Tennis."I embody tennis" - Roger Federer
"Roger and I haven't forgotten how to play tennis" - Rafael Nadal
"I think Luck falls on not just the brave, but also the ones who believe they belong there" - Novak Djokovic
"I don't play any tournaments to come out second best" - Andy Murray
I know if I want a chance to beat the top players, I need to be mentally ready for that" - Stan Wawrinka​

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Medvedev did well in the first three games, but he when better and more natural claycourters find ways to properly construct points like Thiem today or Lajovic last week, it becomes problematic for him. Regarless of whether he was injured or not.

As for Thiem, he surely has improved over last few year gamewise (and by a lot I think), but his main problem has always been that he wasn't able to find his best level when it matters and fail in the crucial moments. Looking at the two tournaments he won this year, those problems hopefully belong to the past.

I would not be surprised if there is a lot more to this than meets the eye.
Lahyani and Kyrgios may be in a gay relationship, and Lahyani let his emotions get the better of him.
They both are known for flamboyant behavior, so no surprise if they are gays.
And we know Kyrgios has an unnatural interest in Kokkinakis' sex life, enough to talk about it during a tennis match....
He's probably the only person in the history of sport to talk about his friend's sex during a professional event, so its probably on his mind a lot.
There was also an occasion when Kyrgios cried during an oncourt interview when he said how much he loved Kokkinakis and how much he wanted Kokkinakis to return from injury.

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I must admit I don't watch Thiem's matches at every tournament, but I watched all of his matches this week and I was very impressed with him. He played with so much intelligence and varitey. It wasn't just bashing the ball as hard as he could. He used angles, different pace on his ground strokes, and threw in tons of slices and dropshots. So much variety. He surely has the game to be a great player not just on clay, but on all surfaces. For me, he is the second favourite for the French Open behind Nadal. I don't see anyone but Nadal beating him there.

We will continue to simulate the season with the second Grand Slam of 2020 - Roland Garros. The draw for the events will be completely randomized. Qualifiers are randomized as well and the WCs are chosen by me.
ALL-NEW - You may only vote ONCE EVERY TWO HOURS this week AND matches are best of...

We will continue to simulate the season with the clay ATP250s in Stuttgart and s-Hertogenbosch. The draw for the events will be completely randomized. Qualifiers are randomized as well and the WCs will be chosen by me, if not there aren't enough requests.
ALL-NEW - MTFers may now request...

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